COMMERCIAL

STANDARDS

MONTHLY

A Review of Progress in

Commercial Standardization and Simplification

ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS OF THE

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE - - - - - WASHINGTON, D. C., U. S. A.

AIRPLANE VIEW OF NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. Sec page 3 ot cover tor prices
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

R. P. Lamont, Secretary

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

Ray M. Hudson

Assistant Director for Commercial Standards

George K. Burgess, Director

Lyman J. Briggs

Assistant Director for Research and Testing COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY

S. F, Tillman, Editor

DIVISIONS OF THE COMMERCIAL STANDARDIZATION GROUP

DIVISION OF SIMPLIFIED PRACTICE, Edwin W. Ely.

The division of simplified practice was formed in November,

1921, to provide a clearing house or centralizing agency through

which the manufacturer, distributor, and consumer groups

could meet to discuss their common problems and decide upon

eliminations which would prove of mutual benefit to all concerned. The activities of the division are purely cooperative

in character. It orders nothing; it dictates nothing; the ini- tiative must come from business itself. It has no regulatory nor police powers to enforce adherence to the simplified-practice

recommendations that industry develops under the auspices

of the United States Department of Commerce. Its chief function is to serve as a neutral meeting ground for the purpose

of bringing together producers, distributors, and consumers, whose aims are sometimes divergent and possibly antagonistic,

and who would be unwilling to cooperate, except through some

unbiased central agency. Following the approval of the tentative simplified-practice recommendation by a general conference

of all interested elements thereof, the project is then presented

to the entire industry by letter referendum for its approval and

written acceptance, the publication and indorsement of the recommendation on the part of the Department of Commerce

being dependent upon acceptance of the program by at least 80 per cent, by volume, of the manufacturers, distributors, and

users concerned. AMERICAN MARINE STANDARDS COM’TEE, A. V. Bouillon.

The American Marine Standards Committee was organized

to promote simplification of practice and elimination of waste

in the marine and allied industries. It is composed of indi- viduals, corporations, societies, Government departments, public bodies, or other organizations or groups engaged in building

or operating ships, port facilities, and related activities. It works in close cooperation with official agencies, but its activities are controlled by an executive board elected annually

by and from the membership. For further information, write

direct to the secretary, A. V. Bouillon, Room 713, Department

of Commerce, Washington, D. C. DIVISION OF TRADE STANDARDS, I. J. Fairchild.

The commercial standards unit, now known as division of trade standards, was created on October 1, 1927, for the purpose

of aiding those industrial and commercial groups desiring to

establish standards of grades, quality, or measurements for their products or their purchases on a purely voluntary basis. The division functions only at the direct request of the in- dustry concerned. Its procedure is similar to that of the divi sion of simplified practice, except that at least 65 per cent of the industry, by volume of annual production, must accept

the commercial standard in writing before it is published by

the Department of Commerce. A certification plan is applied

DIVISION OF TRADE STANDARDS—Continued. on request as a means of increasing the effectiveness of such

standards. Provision is made for regular revision of the standard through the appointment of a standing committee to consider

periodically any necessity for revision of the standard, in order that it may be kept constantly compatible with progress in the

industry.

DIVISION OF SPECIFICATIONS, A. S. McAllister.

The duties of the division of specifications are to promote and

facilitate the use and unification of specifications. In doing so

it carries on activities involving cooperation with technical

societies; trade associations; Federal, State, and municipal

Government specifications making and using agencies; producers, distributors, and consumers; and testing and research

laboratories. The cooperation with technical societies and

trade associations includes ascertaining the standardization and specification promoting activities of these organizations,

and bringing to their attention the work being done by the commercial standardization group. The cooperation with

producers involves the compilation of lists of manufacturers

who have expressed their willingness to certify to purchasers,

upon request, that material supplied by them on contracts based on certain Federal specifications or commercial standards comply with the requirements thereof. The division prepares

the directories of governmental and nongovernmental testing laboratories; the Directory of Specifications; and is working

on an encyclopedia of specifications, the first volume of which,

Standards and Specifications in the Wood-Using Industries, has been issued. It also aids in preparing the Standards Yearbook. BUILDING AND HOUSING DIVISION, J. S. Taylor.

The division of building and housing cooperates with business, technical, and professional groups in practically all its undertakings on building and housing. Its work to modernize

building codes and to encourage improved standards for the quality of building construction promotes the practical application of the latest development in design and use of build- ing materials. This division was also formed in 1921. In furthering home ownership, an effort is made to develop an enlarged, steadier, more intelligent, and more discriminating

demand for soundly built dwellings, the largest single class of buildings which the construction industries provide. The

division also cooperates with many business and professional groups in efforts to distribute building activity more evenly

throughout the year, and to secure less fluctuation from year

to year. The work on city planning and zoning has in mind

the broad objective of buildings made more useful because

well located with respect to other buildings, a well-coordinated

street system, and appropriate public works. Good city

planning and zoning likewise encourages stability in land values and property uses, and thereby contributes to the demand for durable structures.

Except where otherwise indicated, for further information address

BUREAU OF STANDARDS

WASHINGTON, D. C.
COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY

A Review of Progress in

Commercial Standardization and Simplification

Volume 6 WASHINGTON, D. C., SEPTEMBER 15, 1929 Number 3

CONTENTS

BUILDING AND HOUSING ITEMS

Small house survey ELIMINATION OF WASTE NOTES

A campaign to prevent waste Campaign against waste

Profits from waste

Page65

76

66

69

SIMPLIFIED PRACTICE NEWS

Includes S. P. R.’s in catalogue

News from division of simplified practice

Need for simplified containers Regional approach to national simplified practice recom- mendations

SPECIFICATION NEWS

Page69

62

71

60

FEATURE ARTICLES

Application of laboratory methods to the art of flying __ 61 1928 Commerce Yearbook out 64

Specifications in Federal catalogue 66

Structural steel specifications 70 Use of specifications brings savings 69

STANDARDIZATION NEWS

FOREIGN NOTES OF INTEREST

British committee on industry and trade 75

British want simplification 72 Germany saves on paper sizes 76

Standardization of bottles 75 RESEARCH NEWS ITEMS

Daylight radio reception at maximum 76

Industrial and business research 67

Lights used to test materials 74

Machinists’ vises studied 71 Most sheathing papers found effective 76

Plans tests of protective pipe coatings 74

Precise length standards 67 Radio as an aid to research 70 Temperature control in rubber testing 75

Activities in trade standardization 65 American Marine Standards Committee news 66 Carton sizes should be standard 69

Industrial standardization important 75

International aeronautics conference at Warsaw 76

Lamp standardization reduced cost 74

National Electrical Safety Code 68 Need of mining standards 62

News from the American Society for Testing Materials. 72

Notes from the American Standards Association 70

San Diego adopts standardization 72

Standard fits for mass production 77

Standardization of instrument design 75 Standard millwork patterns 74- utilization OF WASTE NEWS

Salvaging old lamps 69

AN INVITATION TO VISIT THE BUREAU OF STANDARDS

An interesting fact in the growth of the bureau is the steady increase in the number of visitors. From

all over the world experts come to see the work in progress in many specialties. Not alone the experts but

in growing numbers many of our people visit the bureau from a public-spirited desire to acquaint themselves with its research work. All visitors, from the newspapermen, who have called the bureau a “house

of wonders, ” to the specialists, who use its services, are welcome, for it is their bureau in a very real sense. They are the owners of the business and its beneficiaries. The annual per capita cost of 2 cents which

the average citizen pays toward the operation of the bureau yields returns sometimes a hundredfold or a thousandfold. How science turns wastes into profits, increases the useful life of materials, adds new

efficiencies to industry, advances new arts, such as aviation and radio, by research and discovery—these

are to be seen first hand in the scientific and technical laboratories of the bureau.

A cordial invitation is extended to all citizens interested in scientific progress to visit the laboratories

of the Bureau of Standards when in Washington. A personally conducted trip is organized at 2.15 p. m.

daily except on holidays. Special trips for groups may be arranged at other times by writing to the

bureau in advance. The bureau’s illustrated Visitor’s Manual may be had for the asking. Tins lists the work in progress and gives an airplane view of the ensemble and a brief statement of typical discoveries

and inventions which have been notable, basic contributions to radio, aviation, and other modern arts and industries.

George K. Burgess, Director.

68531—29 1 (59)
REGIONAL APPROACH

TO NATIONAL SIMPLIFIED PRACTICE

RECOMMENDATIONS

NDUSTRY and commerce make their profits chiefly through

the successful manufacture and distribution of commodities and through the use of certain articles to produce

certain gainful results. The primary function of the

division of simplified practice is to assist individuals and

groups which are in any way concerned with a given product

to reduce the cost of manufacturing and distributing that product. In

order to secure maximum results, such problems should be handled on

a national scale.

There are certain problems, however, notably in connection with

natural products, which can not be effectively handled on a national

scale until they have been successfully solved within a limited area or region.

Slate, a natural rock, not subject to the precise control that governs

fabricated materials, exemplifies this class of product. Some aspects

of such a problem may always be regional, as, for example, the color in

slate. In certain other aspects, identical characteristics may be found

in other regions, and in such cases the regional solutions may prove to be

nationally applicable.

A regional program may be the source of a national simplified practice

recommendation, but it should never be construed as a local interpretation of a national program. Such interpretation might place communities in destructive competition with one another. A simplification

program covering one region may become nationally known at once, or

it may stimulate the development of similar programs in other regions

which may eventually be merged into a single national program.

In the case of high-volatile bituminous coal handled over the docks

at the American head of the Great Lakes, a regional program was succesfully developed. Coal interests in other regions are considering similar

programs in their own fields. It seems probable that a “common denominator” will materialize which may form the basis of a national program

of major importance. The division regards this project as a valuable

test case, and has therefore cooperated with the coal industry to develop

and promulgate Regional Recommendation No. 1.
61

APPLICATION OF LABORATORY METHODS TO THE ART OF FLYING

WIND TUNNEL IMPORTANT FACTOR.

Flight by man is usually listed among the wonders

of the twentieth century, but the wonder is gradually

disappearing as airplanes become more numerous and

commercially organized air services take their place

alongside the railroad and automobile lines as carriers

of mail, freight, and passengers.

It was not over 25 years ago that the art of human

flight became an accomplished fact through the

culmination of the work of Wilbur and Orville Wright.

The victory over the unknown forces of nature followed

after a long siege dating back centuries to men who

lived so long ago that their attempts to fly are re- membered only as legends. Bit by bit knowledge was

accumulated, but at the price of human life. The

victory came suddenly like the collapse of the camel’s

back when the famous last straw was added to the load.

What was the last straw by which the air was conquered?

Some say that the deciding factor was the development of a gasoline engine of large power and small

weight, but the near success of Langley with his steam

engine shows quite clearly that this is not the real ex- planation. It is believed that the deciding factor was

the development by Langley, Wright, and others of an experimental procedure using small models; experiments which could be made at so much less expense

and so much more qiiickly and accurately, without

risk of human life. EARLY TESTS. The same factor operated in the rapid development

of other wonders of the twentieth century. The first automobile was built by adding an engine, transmission, and steering gear to a horse-drawn buggy, and

in its early development the effects of all suggested

improvements were tried on the complete automobile.

To-day this type of test is supplemented and in many

cases replaced by laboratory tests of the separate

parts under conditions designed to represent those

occurring in automobile driving.

Early airplanes were constructed full size, and tests made by pushing them over the edge of a roof or sending them down an inclined track. To-day the

airplane is first tested in two ways. First, all of the

parts are tested and checked for structural strength,

and the assembled machine tested by loading with

sand and by dropping it to the ground from a given

height. In the second place, the loads to be encountered and the stability and control are measured by

the use of small models. For example, when the

Select Committee of Inquiry of the House of Representatives conducted its investigation into the state

of the air services, a few years ago, many questions were

settled by tests of small models of airplanes at the

Bureau of Standards, Langley Field, Va., the Washington Navy Yard, and elsewhere. The results of

these tests were published in a separate technical

volume accompanying the general testimony. The

Safe Code for Commercial Aviation, worked out under

sponsorship of the Bureau of Standards and the

Society of Automotive Engineers by representatives

of all groups interested in civil aviation requires that

model tests be made of all essentially new designs.

TESTED IN WIND TUNNEL.

The models are tested in a device known as a wind

tunnel, which consists of a long tube of fairly large

diameter through which air may be drawn at high

speeds by means of a fan. The miniature airplane is held fixed in the air stream by means of wires which

are attached to balances for measuring the forces

produced by the wind. Just as when moving in an

automobile a wind is felt, so in an airplane the pilot

and passengers, if unprotected, feel a strong wind, even when the airplane moves in still air. It happens

that the forces on an airplane driven through still air by a propeller at a certain speed are exactly the same

as if a wind were blown at the same speed against the

airplane while held at rest. The laws of variation

with size can be determined by using models of different

scale so that the air forces on a model at rest in a high

wind can be used to predict the forces on an airplane

moving through still air at the speed of the wind. By

a suitable arrangement of the supporting wires and

the balances both the lifting force and the resistance

which must be overcome by the propeller can be measured. Likewise, the stability may be determined

that is, whether the airplane will tend to remain in even, steady flight when disturbed by wind gusts.

THREE TUNNELS AT BUREAU.

There are three Such wind tunnels at the Bureau of Standards, one 3 feet in diameter where winds up to 150 miles per hour can be produced, one 4 ){ feet in diameter where winds up to 75 miles per hour may be

secured, and one 10 feet in diameter where winds up

to 70 miles per hour can be produced. This last tunnel is one of the largest in the world. A 70-mile

per hour natural windstorm causes great property

damage and usually loss of life. This 10-foot diameter

artificial stream is, of course, controlled, and it can be

instantly stopped and started and its intensity varied

at will. There are many interesting illustrations of the value

of these laboratory tests. During the war a large

7-winged airplane consisting of three main wings one above the other and a pair of wings in front and a pair

behind was built without a model test by a designer

who secured funds from private sources. On its trial flight the airplane met with an accident, the nose

lifting in the air and the machine falling back on its

tail as soon as the full motor power was turned on. The designer was then persuaded to make a model

for wind-tunnel tests at a cost, (including the tests), of perhaps one two-hundredth that of the full-scale machine. The wind-tunnel test showed that the air forces were not properly balanced with relation to the

weights carried and certain changes were suggested.

It was found impossible to cariy these out on the actual

machine without practically rebuilding it. A partial

rebuilding was carried out at great expense, but the

second attempt at flight resulted in a second wreck.

The financial backing was withdrawn and the project was abandoned with no return on the money spent.

Had the wind-tunnel test been made first the project

would probably have been carried through to completion, since the suggested changes could readily have

been made in the original plans.

PERFORMANCE OF AIRCRAFT PREDICTED.

The performance of an airplane, so far as speed,

climbing rate, etc., are concerned, can be predicted

with amazing accuracy from wind-tunnel tests by a
62

competent engineer. Certain secondary corrections

need to be applied for best results. Many people are surprised to learn that after the initial climb when the

airplane remains nearly at the same height above the

ground no power is required directly to stay up. It

is necessary to keep moving forward to stay up and this requires power to overcome the air resistance. The

force required to be exerted is, however, only one- eighth the weight lifted, a great advantage over a

helicopter where a force equal to the weight must be

provided by the propeller. Since moving forward

to get somewhere and not merely to stay up is usually

the main purpose of flight, all the power is spent in

the useful task of getting somewhere. The power

required does not compare at all unfavorably with that

required in an automobile traveling over the ground at the same speed. In an automobile traveling at about

one-half the speed of an airplane, only one-eighth

the power is required, since at high speeds the automobile also spends nearly all its power in overcoming air resistance, the necessary power varying as the cube

of the speed.

USED ARTIFICIAL WIND.

Wind tunnels as we know them now are a comparatively recent development, but similar though less exact methods were used by Langley and the Wright

brothers and their contemporaries. Sometimes the

wind was simply the natural wind, which is very

unsteady and varies in direction rapidly. .Sometimes

the wind was an artificial wind through a small pipe,

but at any rate it was by experiment on a small scale checked by experiments on a larger scale in gliders

that the air was finally conquered. By measurements on small, thin plates the advantages of curved wings

over fiat wings were discovered and the problems of balance and stability were partially solved without

risk of life. For this reason it is believed that the

application of model measurements was the decisive

factor in expediting the conquest of the air. The wind

tunnel has found application in many ways. A person

walking, an automobile, or a train must overcome air resistance. In the case of a person walking rather fast,

the force is only a few ounces unless in a high wind

where several pounds are readily perceptible. In the

case of the automobile, the maximum speed is practically fixed by the air resistance, and even at 30 miles

per hour some four horsepower is expended in over- coming air resistance. A few wind-tunnel measure- ments have been made on automobiles, and in Europe

where gasoline is high some automobiles are designed

to have low air resistance. They appear very strange

in comparison with our conventional designs. The

design of racing automobiles can be materially improved by wind tunnel experiments.

NEED OF MINING STANDARDS

No one who has observed the phenomenal progress

of the automobile industry can fail to recognize standardization as the prime factor in that progress. The

motor-car industry is foremost in the use of standard

designs, materials, and practices and makes a most

impressive showing in respect to initiative and improved design—the two qualities to which standardization often is regarded as inimical, comments the Mining Congress Journal, in discussing the need of mining

standards.

According to its leaders, the mining industry must

do likewise. It can not accept the superficial view

that standardization is synonymous with stagnation.

A view of the automobile industry in retrospect will disclose the fact that the simplest bolt for the simplest

part formerly cost from 15 to 20 cents and the nut

for it an equal sum; this price is about seven or eight

times the present price for the same articles and is based upon the fact that the original manufacturer was the only one producing them in the proper dimensions and of the right materials.

STANDARDIZATION MEANS ECONOMIES.

Standardization of mine-track equipment in such

items as frogs, switches, guard rails, spikes, plates, and

ties; standardization of the salient features of design

and materials of construction of mine cars; recom- mendations for standard practice in the ventilation of

mines; the drainage of mines and the installation of

underground electrical equipment are several of the

standardization projects being promulgated by the

American Mining Congress.

From the standpoints of economy, safety, and service

these and the other standardization activities of this organization unquestionably will result in immeasurable benefits. The economies to be gained by the use

of standard equipment need no elaboration; those to be gained by standard practices are more and more

being recognized as important to the efficiency of

the workman employed and the operation of the equipment used. The paramount issue of safety for the

men underground can not be better served than by

the widespread use of standard practices which are recommended by committees composed of engineers

whose study and research have indicated preferred

ways of performing various operations. Service from

the manufacturer in the supply of equipment demanded

in odd sizes, shapes, and types of construction is a thing that can not be expected. Standard items of

equipment can be manufactured in quantity and

carried in stock for immediate shipment to the mines;

and where store facilities are maintained at the mine,

the capital invested can be greatly reduced by the

elimination of unnecessary varieties now stocked.

NEWS FROM DIVISION OF SIMPLIFIED PRACTICE

The division reports on many projects under study

for simplification. For the first time the Commercial

Standards Monthly reports on projects that have

been suggested to the division.

WHAT IS SIMPLIFIED PRACTICE?

Simplified practice is a method of eliminating superflous variety. It is applied by the collective action of

producers, distributors, and consumers, with the

cooperation of the division of simplified practice, to

eliminate needless variety in sizes, dimensions, and

types of commonplace commodities. This method is based on the sensible avoidance of waste caused by

excessive and uneconomic diversity. Simplified practice decreases costs and increases the utility and

efficiency of production, distribution, and consumption. These ends are accomplished by voluntarily

limiting varieties of stock items to those for which

there is a consistent demand.
63

INDUSTRIAL CASTERS. A partial survey has been made up and tabulated

from figures furnished by 18 caster manufacturers,

showing the existing diversity in over-all height, bolt

diameter, and bolt-hole spacing for top connections in casters of nominal sizes, ranging from 2 to 6 inches,

inclusive. The tabulation has been sent out to all manufacturers of casters in this class, also to a considerable number of users who have inquired regarding

the possibilities for simplification. A second conference of manufacturers is expected to be arranged

during this month, at which the matter may be dis- cussed in the light of information developed since the

first conference on April 12, 1929. Users of large

industrial casters are displaying* a steadily increasing

interest in this project, and strongly favor an effort to bring about greater interchangeability between casters

of different makes.

SINGLETREES.

Manufacturers of this equipment have formulated

a list of standard sizes and types of singletrees, which

represents a very material reduction in the number

formerly catalogued as standard. The Singletree

Institute has suggested that the division of simplified

practice call a general conference of manufacturers,

distributors, and users during the latter part of

September or early in October for the purpose of

presenting the simplified list for approval by all interests.

CRUSHED STONE.

The board of directors of the National Crushed

Stone Association voted at a recent meeting to request

the division of simplified practice to cooperate with

that association in developing a simplified list of sizes. The association is undertaking to secure from its members all necessary data for preparing such a list, and expects to make a study of “screened equivalents,”

in order to have some nationally recognized standards

of equivalent size as between round-hole and squaremesh screens. This project will involve a very large

amount of study and the collection of a great quantity

of detailed information, but in the opinion of those

most directly interested, will greatly benefit not only

the manufacturers but all users. SCREW JACKS. The division of simplified practice has for several

months been corresponding with manufacturers of

mechanical lifting jacks in order to get their opinions

in regard to the possibility of reducing the present

variety of sizes and types. A large proportion of the

manufacturers favor such an effort, and it is expected

that a preliminary conference of manufacturers will

be arranged during the next month. Users of this

equipment are also showing considerable interest in

the matter, and the division expects to cooperate with

all parties interested in the formulation and adoption of a simplified schedule.

CAN SIZES. A meeting of the simplified practice committee of

the National Canners’ Association was held in Chicago

last month. At this meeting a tentative list of recom- mended sizes of cans for packing fruits and vegetables wr as drafted. The list provides for a considerable

reduction in number of sizes in use to-day, although

it is felt that the recommended sizes will meet the

requirements of the large majority of ordinary demand.

SHOE GORING.

A general conference was held in New’ York on July

23 at which time the tentative proposal of the simplified practice committee for simplifying this commodity was approved. The report of the conference,

which includes the schedule adopted, has been mailed

to those interested for acceptance.

RESTAURANT GUEST CHECKS.

The simplified practice committee of manufacturers

of restaurant guest checks has submitted a tentative

proposal with the request that the division organize

a general conference of all interests in September for the purpose of securing the approval of those interested.

PACKAGING OF FLASH-LIGHT BATTERIES.

The division is making a survey of manufacturers

to determine their attitude toward simplification of packaging of these batteries. Twenty-four manufacturers were circularized, and, from the 18 replies

received to date, it would appear that the majority are

in favor of the proposal. Many of the manufacturers

now package in accordance with the proposed schedule,

and most of the others are willing to change their

practice.

RUBBER FLOOR TILES. The structural service department of the American

Institute of Architects has suggested the opportunity

for simplification of sizes, thicknesses, etc., of these

tiles. Their suggestion is based on the result of tests made by the Bureau of Standards. We are now cir- cularizing 15 of the most important manufacturers of

this product to find out their opinion on the need for

this simplification. If sufficient interest is showm in

the project, the division will organize a preliminary

conference to discuss the details. GUMMED TAPE. A committee of the industry has drafted a tentative

proposal for this commodity, and the division has been

requested to plan a general conference of all interests, to be held in Chicago during October.

SHOE CARTON SIZES. At the request of a shoe manufacturers association,

the division will, in the near future, address an inquiry

to all concerned regarding the need for simplifying

shoe carton sizes. PHOTOGRAPHIC PAPER. The printed recommendation for photographic

paper is now available and may be secured from the

Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing

Office, Washington, D. C., at 10 cents per copy.

The title of this document is S. P. R. No. R98-29.

The recommendation covers cut and roll sizes of

photographic paper, and was accepted by a large

volume of the industry.

CARBONATED-BEVERAGE BOTTLES.

A variety survey has just been completed by the

division of simplified practice, and a consolidated

report showing the percentage of production on the

different heights, diameters, capacities, etc., is now

being completed. This survey w’as made at the

request of the joint simplified practice committee,

made up of representatives of the carbonated-beverage industry and the bottle manufacturers, and the

report will be discussed at a meeting of the joint
64

committee, to be held at the Department of Commerce

on September 16, with the view of developing a tentative simplified practice recommendation for consideration at a general conference of all interests to be

held in Atlantic City in November, in conjunction

with the annual convention of the American Bottlers

of Carbonated Beverages.

BUFFING WHEELS.

At the request of the simplified practice committee

of the buffing-wheel industry, the division made a preliminary survey among a large number of users of buffing wheels to ascertain their views regarding the

proposed standardization of buffing-wheel diameters.

Many replies have been received, and practically

all are in hearty accord with the efforts of the committee toward the establishment of standard sizes. The 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 20 inch diameters are recommended by the simplified practice committee

for adoption as standards for stock items. The

investigations of the committee brought out the fact

that standardization of certain diameters would

result in a marked elimination of wasteful cutting of sheeting out of which buffs are made. The division

is arranging for a general conference of all interests

to be held late this fall for the purpose of adopting a

definite recommendation covering standard diameters

for buffs. HOLES IN STEAM TABLES. A few weeks ago the division received a communication from a representative of the metal-ware industry

calling attention to the need for standardization

of the dimensions of holes in steam tables. There seem to be two sets of dimensions, those in the East

being slightly different from those in the West. This

condition has resulted in considerable confusion in the

purchase and manufacture of metal ware and other ware used in steam tables. A preliminary survey has

developed the fact that the manufacturers of steam

tables are in favor of the adoption of standard sizes for holes in steam tables. The division will arrange

for a preliminary conference on the subject in the near

future, at which time a simplified practice committee

will be appointed to conduct a survey, and from the

results obtained work out a tentative recommendation

for the consideration of all concerned.

SUGGESTIONS.

The division of simplified practice receives many

suggestions for simplification. A few of these are

listed below. Manufacturers, distributors, and users

of these commodities are invited to submit any comments which will be helpful in determining the interested industry’s attitude toward these suggestions.

Paper board. —This commodity is used in the manufacture of paper boxes and cartons. The apparent

need for simplification is in the size of rolls produced

at the mills and the size of the cores. Feather pillows. —Reduction in the number of sizes now manufactured has been suggested.

Blue-print paper. —The need for reducing sizes of

rolls, weights of paper, etc., has been suggested.

Bright wire goods . —Several suggestions have been

received for simplifying screw hooks, screw eyes, wire

hooks and eyes, and other items making up this fine. Widths ojfabrics . —Dress goods of cotton, silk, wool,

and rayon are produced in many widths, and it has

been suggested that the number of widths could be

reduced with benefit to all concerned.

Hosiery colors. —Manufacturers, distributors, and

users are requested to express an opinion on uniform

terminology for the different shades of hosiery colors. One store believes that there are as many beige shades

as there are manufacturers.

Lunch, cafeteria, and soda-joundatin counters.—

A

letter was received recently from a manufacturer

of counters asking if we would undertake an investigation in the interest of simplification of styles,

types, and sizes of lunch, cafeteria, and soda-fountain

counters. Baking ovens.—

A

large concern engaged in the

manufacture of pyrex ware is interested in the standardization of oven sizes, both in the kitchen range and

for the baking equipment used in hotels, restaurants,

hospitals, etc. Serving trays. —The home-economics adviser of a

large concern engaged in the manufacture of glassware

is interested in the standardization of the size and

material of trays used in institutions, such as cafeterias,

restaurants, and hospitals.

Coffee containers—folding boxes.—A representative

of one of the paper container associations has asked

the cooperation of the division in the development and

promulgation of a simplified practice recommendation

covering sizes of folding boxes used in packing coffee

for retail. Meshed wire fabric for reinforcing highways.—

A

manufacturer of machinery for making wire from steel ingots has drawn attention to the diversification

existing to-day in the wire and mesh sizes of meshed

wire fabric for reinforcing highways.

Steel office furniture.—A prominent national asso- ciation has suggested that a standard shade of “olive

green” and standard over-all dimensions for steel

office furniture would materially assist in arranging

and maintaining well appearing offices and would,

further, enable the user to procure quicker replacement or additional equipment to match.

1928 COMMERCE YEARBOOK OUT

During 1928 American business reached the highest

level ever attained, according to the 1928 Commerce

Yearbook, which is now on sale at the Government

Printing Office, Washington, D. C., at $1 per copy.

The prosperity characteristic of every year since 1921

continued through last year, the yearbook states,

marking the steadily increasing efficiency of both in- dustry and trade. The only slow-down since 1921 came toward the end of 1927, but business promptly

went back to a normal basis and remained that way

throughout 1928.

TOUCH FOUR PHASES. Four phases of America’s industrial life touched

upon in the yearbook and their performances during

the year just ended were: Manufacturing output, the

most comprehensive measure of economic activity, was

3 per cent above the previous peak of 1926. Mineral

output, chiefly because of smaller coal production, was

slightly less than in 1926 or 1927. Tonnage of rail- way traffic increased slightly, and on account of re- duced operating expenses the net operating income of

the railways was 10 per cent greater than in 1927.

Export trade increased 5% per cent in value and in

quantitative terms was greater than even during the

abnormal war years.
65

SMALL-HOUSE SURVEY

Preliminary conclusions from the small-house survey

recently conducted by the Division of Building and

Housing of the Bureau of Standards in 31 cities show

a great variety in house details and prices per cubic

foot. This survey covered 400 items of small dwelling

design, construction, and equipment, and is based on inspection of houses and interviews with builders

in principal cities of the United States. No previous

systematic study of these details is believed to have

been made on any such scale, and the results are such

as to be of interest both to the general public and to business groups.

The room areas in representative houses studied

have been computed, and the cubic contents of a

large number of houses have been determined. These

data and prices asked have been used in figuring the

selling price per cubic foot after deductions have been

made for value of land and garages. Cubic contents are figured on the basis of the entire

volume of the house and one-half the volume of porches. The net selling price of the house is then

divided by the cubic contents to obtain the price per

cubic foot. This varies from 15 cents for a lowpriced house in Dallas, Tex., to 46 cents for a Washington, D. C., semidetached house. Another lowprice house in Dallas sells for 27 cents per cubic foot. A Kansas City bungalow sells for 30 cents, the same

price as a small Philadelphia row house, while a repre- sentative Philadelphia row house sells for 24 cents. This is merely an indication of the price ranges found,

and does not represent an equivalent variation in purchasing power as the houses mentioned vary

greatly in details. The report will show how these

details vary. Preliminary figures from the survey indicate that the

kitchen size of houses studied, mainly of five and six rooms, seems to be more nearR independent of any

relation to price than any other room size. The usual

kitchen is about 8 feet 10 inches by 11 feet S inches and

contains 103 square feet. In a few cities—for example,

Kansas City and Dallas—the kitchens are smaller, but

in these cases there is usually a separate breakfast room. This is also true in Fort Worth, Los Angeles,

and San Francisco.

The dining room is nearly square in most houses

and the average size in houses studied is 148 square

feet. Omission of a portion of the basement is unusual

except in warmer climates. In Oklahoma City, where

houses with basements were exceptional, many new

homes now have a cellar under half of the house.

Cellars are seldom found in Dallas or Fort Worth.

In Jacksonville they are aslo unusual, probably due to the small distance to water level. Newer homes in Los Angeles of 2-storv type often have a heater cellar 6 by 8 feet, but bungalows usually omit this item.

The bungalows are piped for gas or have a special

gas furnace recessed in the space under the floor joists.

While appreciable savings might be made by omission of portions of the cellar in other cities, there is no

apparent trend in this direction, probably because of

sales resistance and difficulty with financing agencies.

ACTIVITIES IN TRADE STANDARDIZATION

(Division of Trade Standards)

NATIONAL EFFECT OF STANDARDS.

It is because of standardization of industry that

western civilization has been able to forge ahead and

eastern civilization remains pretty much where it was

one or two centuries ago, says N. F. Harriman in his recent book on Standards and Standardization.

While we invite and secure the labor-saving devices

which make life more enjoyable, through standardized

methods of manufacture, the oriental has denied himself these things, but has standardized his personal

life. The Chinaman’s clothes, thatched hut, wooden

plow, and rice padd}^ are surely as standardized as anything found in American civilization. These

things have been standardized there for centuries,

and yet China has little desire to adopt modern machinery and methods. If the Chinaman had more standardized agricultural machinery, tractors, locomotives,

and automobiles, his life would become much less standardized and he would not be bound by the un- changing customs of the past.

No one can doubt that the standardization of materials, machines, processes, and products of manufacture

has been one of the prime aids of American progress

in the industrial arts. When a standard gauge of

track, standard couplers, air brakes, etc., was adopted

for all railways, the unification of all the lines on the

continent into a single system of transportation, by

the interchange of cars, was made practically possible.

Think what it would mean if each individual railway

had its own gauge of track, so that no cars or locomotives but its own could run upon its rails; think what

it would mean if each make of automobile required its own peculiar tires and spark plugs; the efficiency of these great inventions would be so minimized as to be

all but destroyed. In standardization the same

principle has been applied with equal advantage to a thousand other things, great and small.

DRESS PATTERNS.

The manuscript for Dress Patterns, Commercial

Standard, CS13-30, is now in the hands of the Government Printing Office, having been accepted by a satis- factory number of manufacturers and users, and will be issued in printed form in the near future. This

covers standard classifications and corresponding

body measurements used as a basis for size designation

of commercial dress patterns and does not apply in any way to ready-to-wear garments. According to the commercial standard, dress patterns will be classi- fied by the following terms: Ladies, misses, juniors,

girls, children, infants, boys, and little boys. For each

of these classifications a range of sizes is set up and

definite body measurements are established for each

size.Former references to age have been eliminated in favor of references to size only; thus a dress pattern

formerly designated as “Misses, age 18,” will now be

sold as “Misses, size 18,” and will be based on the

following body measurements: Bust 36 inches, waist

30 inches, hip 39 inches.
66

It is expected that this commercial standard will clarify in the minds of the consumer, the classification

terms and size designations used by the producers

and will materially reduce the present difficulty of the

distributor in furnishing proper sizes. WARDROBE AND DRESS TRUNKS.

A representative of the division of trade standards

delivered an address entitled “Limiting Luggage

Liabilities,” before the National Luggage Dealers

Association in New York City on August 13, 1929,

reviewing the current effort toward establishing

minimum standards of quality for wardrobe and dress

trunks. This movement has been sponsored from its inception by the American Association of General

Baggage Agents, representing the American and

Canadian railroads and express companies. At the

request of the latter association, the Freight Container

Bureau of the American Railway Association rendered

a report dated December 5, 1927, to develop a standard specification for trunks for the transportation of personal baggage by railroads.

With this information at hand, the Trunk, Luggage,

and Leather Goods Manufacturers of America are preparing to draft a minimum specification for wardrobe and dress trunks which will later be submitted

to other divisions of the industry for comment and

criticism. The National Luggage Dealers Association

is eager to have something accomplished along this

line to reduce the present hazards of stocking and

selling luggage, and to enable the ultimate consumer

to purchase with greater confidence and satisfaction.

WROUGHT IRON PIPE NIPPLES. Wrought Iron Pipe Nipples, Commercial Standard

CS6-29, is now available in printed form at 10 cents per copy from the Superintendent of Documents,

Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. It comprises a complete specification for this commodity,

including dimensions, tolerances, threading, gauging,

chamfering, as well as stock sizes and lengths of the

various grades. Single copies are available on request

to organizations indicating their desire to scrutinize

the commercial standard with a view toward adopting

it as their standard of practice in the production,

distribution, or consumption of this commodity.

BRASS PIPE NIPPLES. Brass Pipe Nipples, Commercial Standard CSlO-29,

is similar and parallel in many respects to the abovedescribed pamphlet on Wrought Iron Pipe Nipples.

It is now available in printed form from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office,

Washington, D. C., at 10 cents per copy.

SPECIFICATIONS IN FEDERAL CATALOGUE

The Federal Specifications Board has approved

recommendations that in the future the United States

Government master specifications are to be designated as Federal specifications and, as such, are to be

printed in loose-leaf form as an appropriate section of the Federal Standard Stock Catalogue. This section

will be available by purchase as a whole, or in part,

from the Superintendent of Documents, Government

Printing Office, Washington, D. C. Rear Admiral

T. H. Hicks, U. S. N., chairman of the Federal Standard Stock Catalogue, contributed an article in the

August issue of the Commercial Standards Monthly

on the subject of the Federal Standard Stock Catalogue.

A revision of alphabetical index and numerical list of Federal specifications, promulgated by the Federal

Specifications Board, has been prepared for printing

and will later be available by purchase from the

Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing

Office. CAMPAIGN AGAINST WASTE

It is estimated that more than 100 manufacturing

companies participated in the elimination of waste

campaign of 1929. The campaign is an educational

movement aimed at the elimination of small wastes. The plan is flexible and may be used in various ways

and at any time. It consists in the display of exhibit

boards which visualize the nature, cost, and the method

of avoiding wastes. These exhibits are made up by

department committees, but interest is also aroused by

talks from the management and by daily features in the house organs. The Oakland Motor Co., of Pontiac, Mich., which

employs 12,000 men, spent this year $10,000, or 80

cents per employee, in getting out posters, exhibits,

and daily news stories. The stories centered around

specific incidents and usually carried pictures of the

foremen or employees involved. As a result, 3,385

suggestions for waste elimination were received.

Prizes totaling $1,247 were given for these suggestions

and for the best exhibit boards. The management

reports that 35 per cent of the suggestions have been

found of high value, and that many others are expected

to be of some value.

The Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.

estimated its 1927 savings from this campaign at $250,000. The Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co., of Pittsburgh, Pa., was the originator of the plan, although it evolved the idea from the management week movement.

AMERICAN MARINE STANDARDS COMMITTEE NEWS

The American Marine Standards Committee is of national scope. It is constituted of representative

interests of the marine and allied industries. It is self- governed through an executive board elected annually

by the member interests. Its purpose is to unify practice and eliminate waste in construction and operation

of ships and port facilities. The Government is prominently identified with it through members representing

the Navy and War Departments, Coast Guard, and

bureaus concerned with shipping and ship building.

The committee’s work is aided by facilities and services

furnished by the Department of Commerce through

the Bureau of Standards and by the United States

Shipping Board.

INTERNATIONAL MARINE STANDARDS.

The Standardization Commission in Holland, acting

in behalf of the International Standards Association,

has submitted definite proposals for international

standards for anchor chains, (stud link), glass for air ports and fixed lights, and vertical mooring bitts. These have been submitted to the A. S. M. C. standing
67

committee on “international standardization” for approval or critical comment. A list of other marine

subjects proposed to be placed on the program for in- ternational standardization is also being considered.

MOORING PIPES. A proposed standard design approved by the technical committee on “hull details” has been submitted

to the membership for ballot vote. Its prime purpose

is to standardize the hole in the bulwark plate and the

position of rivets to secure interchangeability.

VENTILATOR COWLS.

Investigations by the Navy Department have shown

that the inlet ratio of 2 to 1 diameters in relation to the ventilator pipe, generally used for supply cowls of merchant ships, is excessive and is not as efficient as a lower ratio of from 1.2 to 1.5 diameters. Tests of exhaust ventilator outlets made by the Bureau of Standards indicate that a prevailing tj^pe of ship

exhaust cowl, with an air jet from the wind to induce

suction flow through the outlet, is not as efficient as a plain cone outlet with its closed point to the wind.

Principles based upon these findings are under consideration by the subject committee as a proposal to govern future design of supply and exhaust cowls.

If these principles are accepted, and simplified types of cowls in accordance with them can be standardized

to the satisfaction of the shipowners and shipbuilders,

there will be a material saving in cowl construction

and maintenance.

HULL CONSTRUCTION.

A preliminary draft of proposed rules on standard

practice in hull construction, has been submitted to the membership for ballot vote. This is a revision

of a prior draft approved by the technical committee

on “hull details,” in which suggestions received from

the committee have been incorporated. These proposed standard rules are intended to simplify ship contract specifications, establish a common standard in the

shipbuilding industry, and define the scope of inspection in order to minimize the liability of costly disagreements and delays in construction. It embraces

those features of structural work regarding which

there is diversity of opinions, namely, punching,

drilling, reaming, and countersinking of rivet holes;

treatment of faying surfaces; scarping, linering, and

joggling; welding and gas cutting; shoring, fairing,

and bolting of the structure in assembling; heating of

rivets and riveting; caulking, watertightening, oil- tightening, and testing.

METAL TUBULAR FRAME BERTHS.

Proposed standards covering types suitable for staterooms, and for fixed and folding standee berths,

also fittings for their construction and installation,

which were approved by the technical committees on

“hull details” and on “ship-operation details and supplies,” are before the membership for ballot vote. The governing features of these proposed standards are: Simplicity of construction, with adequate structural

strength; smooth surfaces preventing lodgment of dirt or vermin; hollow spaces closed against vermin and

their use for smuggling. Optional materials and finish are provided for. PUBLICATIONS.

The following publications were distributed during

the past month, copies of which are available from the

Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing

Office, Washington, D. C.: AMSC 52, Medical Equipment for Ocean-Going Vessels; AMSC 53, Medical

Equipment for Coastwise and Lake Freighters;

AMSC 54, Medical Equipment for Small Vessels;

AMSC 55, Specifications for Ship Propellers and Templates for Propeller Blade Flanges and Bolt Holes.

INDUSTRIAL AND BUSINESS RESEARCH

“As an industrial X-ray probing basic causes and

fundamental conditions, research is doing much to stimulate production, lower costs, raise the standard of

living, and stabilize business,” said Harold Vinton

Coes in Management Review in discussing Reverberations of Industrial and Business Research. “For ex- ample,” he said, “in the iron and steel trade, it enables an operator to produce 1,250 tons per year as against

the 81 tons of 50 years ago. In the glass industry, 45

bottles were produced per man per hour in 1899, to-day

the rate is 950. In the chemical field, research has

established an industry whose quantity and quality of output is the marvel of competing Europe. In every

business to which it has been applied, research has

tended to remove those hazards which make for cyclical

fluctuation and instability. It has lifted industry

from the quicksands of supposition and guesswork to the rock of knowledge.”

PRECISE LENGTH STANDARDS

The revolutionary development which is taking

place in the science of precision measurements is well

illustrated by the consideration now being given to various spectral lines as possible fundamental standards of length according to the Bureau of Standards.

Light waves as a practical length standard would have

seemed impossible a few years ago, yet to-day scientific and technical men accept them as a matter of course and use them regularly for precise measurements.

In this connection, the July number of the bureau’s

Journal of Research contained a report on the first spectrum of krypton, discussing the proposed use of a

certain yellow-green line in the spectrum of this element

as a fundamental length standard. The bureau’s

analysis shows that theoretical objections can be raised

against this krypton line as a primary standard. The

line is not sufficiently intense for general practical use, and it is associated with a condition of the atoms which

favors absorption or reversal of the line. The bureau

suggests other krypton lines to which these objections

do not apply, but none of these lines can be recom- mended definitely as primary standards until they have

been further examined to find whether they are in reality single lines or are composed of numerous very

fine lines. In the latter case they would be unsuitable

as standards.

Ramsey and Travers discovered a new constituent

of atmospheric air in 1898. They called it krypton,

(“hidden”), and indicated that its spectrum was characterized by two brilliant lines, one green and the other

yellow. In the 30 years which followed this discovery

a considerable number of attempts were made to amplify the description of krypton spectra, but none

of them were complete or accurate enough to permit

a satisfactory analysis of the spectral structures. Interest in the first spectrum of krypton was revived

in 1927, when the International Conference on Weights

and Measures, recommended that a yellow-green

| krypton line be investigated as to its suitability as a 68531—29 2
68

primary standard of wave length which might be substituted for the red line of cadmium provisionally

adopted as the fundamental standard. In investigating the possibility of rare gas spectra as sources of

length standards of superior quality, the Bureau of

Standards is attacking the problem by a new method.

Instead of beginning with a tedious examination of the behavior of different lines under varying conditions,

preliminary descriptions of the entire spectra have

been prepared. These descriptions permit identification of the atomic energy states, and classification of practically all of the spectral lines. The relative

values of energy levels and the quantum numbers

associated with them give information about the characteristics of the individual lines and enable one to discuss their relative merits as wave-length standards.

Thus the relative intensities can be derived theoretically, the susceptibility of any line to reversal or to pressure can be estimated, and the lines theoretically

best qualified as standards may be then selected for practical tests. NATIONAL ELECTRICAL SAFETY CODE

The public and at least three major industries,

namely, the telephone and telegraph, the railroad, and

the power supply, are involved in the use of streets and highways by electrical lines. Where these and

other interests make important contact, mutual

understandings, in the form of standards known by

and acceptable to all, are an important economic asset. Where the property and operation of one interest may

imperil the weal of others, accepted standards of safety

are necessary to keep the commercial progress of all in

order. The National Electrical Safety Code embodies

such standards.

The precepts included in the code are not arbitrary.

They are the result of long experience within each

group affected and between each group and its neighbors. The standard is alive and will continue to develop and grow, reflecting the evolution of methods

and applications. The rules of the code represent a

of practical economic balance of what can be done bjT all concerned to bring about satisfactory conditions safety.

Before the year 1914 the attention of the Bureau of Standards was drawn to the need of a national safety

code for electrical practice. At this time there were no generally accepted construction rules framed from

the standpoint of the life hazard. Relatively few of the electrical companies possessed printed sets of operating rules, and most of these were far from complete.

To prepare a single reasonably complete code that

could be adopted or used as a reference standard by

State industrial and public service commissions,

municipal administrations, insurance interests, and

other industrial groups, such as the telephone and

telegraph, electric power, and railway interests, seemed

to be in the highest degree desirable. It was evident

that, with so many interests involved, the preparation

of such rules in a form that would be adequate and

satisfactory would be no easy task. Since adequate were cooperative channels for the development of safety

standards affecting so many diverse interests not in

existence at that time, the activity of a disinterested

body of national scope, such as the Bureau of Standards, seemed necessary to the success of the project.

In preparation for this work it was necessary for the

bureau to send its engineers to all parts of the country

to determine by actual investigtaion in the field what

constituted average good practice in electrical construction and safety methods. Thousands of data

sheets, including tabulations and measurements of pl^sical qualities and factors of safety, were assembled

and studied. A tentative code expressing the results

of this study, setting as a standard average good practice, was prepared for trial and criticism.

With a tentative standard and information on good

practice in hand, the bureau arranged for the nationwide cooperation and assistance of State industrial and

public service commissions, municipal electrical departments, engineers of operating and manufacturing companies, committees of engineering societies, and

representatives of fire and casualty insurance interests

and of electrical workers. A large number of formal

and informal conferences were held by representatives

of the bureau with those interested. Formal confer- ences were held in Boston, Schnectady, New York,

Philadelphia, Washington, Atlanta, Columbus, Chicago, St. Louis, Denver, Boise, Los Angeles, San

Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. Many differences of opinion were expressed in these

conferences, but many of these differences were re- moved or modified in the course of the discussion, and

the standard approached more and more closely to an

expression of American good practice.

With the establishment of the American Standards

Association and its Safety Code Correlating Committee, machinery for the cooperative development of safety codes of national scope came into existence. It was then appropriate to place further development of the National Electrical Safety Code under the auspices of the American Standards Association, and this was done.

The first edition of the code, entitled “Proposed

National Electrical Safety Code,” appeared as Circular

of the Bureau of Standards No. 54, April 29, 1915.

Since the inception of the project, the National Electrical Safety Code has gone through four major revisions.

The current edition is known as Handbook No. 3, fourth edition, December 31, 1926, and was prepared

by committees representative of all important interests affected, under the procedure of the American

Standards Association. It is approved as American

standard.

In addition to two supplementary sections, giving

definitions of terms and rules for the grounding of

electrical apparatus and circuits, the code consists of

five principal parts as follows:

Part 1. Rules for the installation and maintenance

of generating stations and substations.

Part 2. Rules for the construction and maintenance

of electrical supply and communication lines. Part 3. Rules for the installation and maintenance

of electrical utilization equipment.

Part 4. Rules for the operation of electrical equipment and lines. Part 5. Rules for radio installations.

The completed code has received the general support of all those affected and has exerted a powerful

influence toward securing better electrical construction. It has facilitated commercial agreements, usually confirmed by State authority acting for the public, at points where the interests of various industrial

groups seemed likely to conflict, such as where two or more lines must use the same highway, or at crossings

of various classes of electrical lines, and at crossings

of railways and highways.

The code or parts of it or rules based on the code

have legal force in 26 States, and the code is officially

used as a guide to practice in 8 States.
69

The casualty insurance interests have as a group

adopted the National Electrical Safety Code and are applying it in their inspections and rating schedules.

Many of the rules of the code, such as those applying to the construction and operation of power supply

plants and industrial electrical utilization equipment,

may not involve at the same time more than one commercial interest. They more likely involve the

public interest with that of a corporation or the mutual

interests of employer and employee. In these situations, even where legal enforcement or casualty insur- ance differentials may not extend, there is so much

interest in the subject of safety, and so many managers

are anxious to have their employees properly protected,

that the rules are applied voluntarily. Where State

and city administrations provide competent inspectors, their inspections will usually have, to some extent, an educational value and compliance is generally a

willing one. The commercial security afforded by

compliance with safety rules of wide and authoritative

recognition usually provides sufficient incentive.

In this connection it is of interest to note recent announcements of a manufactory of swatches and

panel boards, which appeared in various trade journals,

that it wall no longer manufacture or offer for sale,

equipment or apparatus not in entire conformity with

the National Electrical Safety Code.

This specific case may be considered as an illustra- tion of the general principle that the code requirements

are intended to appeal to the enlightened self-interest

of the electrical industry as a whole. The procedure

of the A. S. A., which gives voting representation to every interest covered, assures full consideration for

all points of view. Such consideration takes time and

makes development of the code a slow process. The

results, however, have justified the procedure and have

made the National Electrical Safety Code an outstanding example of the principle of self-government in

industry.

USE OF SPECIFICATIONS BRINGS SAVINGS

The effect of specifications in deflating commodity

prices is sometimes astonishing, even in those cases where the article in question is not bought in large

enough quantities for savings due to mass production

to be really effective. A prominent municipal purchasing agent reports the purchase of 200 “biological

desks” for school use upon specifications which were

prepared by taking apart and carefully studying a desk of satisfactory design. An architect then wrote a

specification wffiich incorporated the desirable features

of construction, material, character of workmanship,

finish, etc., and upon the basis of the competition so obtained the desks were purchased at $89 each, instead

of $174 previously paid. “Tablet armchairs” also used in schools, when purchased under specifications,

dropped in cost from an average price of $11.20 to an

average price of $6.15 wffien specifications were

written in such form and wdth such provisions that

competitive bidding was made possible.

INCLUDES S. P. R.’S IN CATALOGUE

The Richards & Conover Hardware Co., of Kansas

City and Oklahoma City, wdth an unbroken record of 72 years in the hardware business, has included the

identification of simplified practice recommendations

issued by the Bureau of Standards, wherever possible

and practicable, in their new catalogue just issued.

This catalogue has also been simplified as to pricing,

printing, composition, and arrangement. This action

is typical of the service afforded this company’s cus- tomers, since by keeping them thus informed, their

customers wall be enabled to concentrate their requirements and purchases on the simplified lines, sizes, etc., thereby reducing inventories, securing quicker deliveries, and effecting many other savings, all along the

line of distribution and use. SALVAGING OLD LAMPS

Burned-out electric lamps are being salvaged by the

New York Edison Co., through the employment of a machine especially built for the purpose. Only the

brass shells at the end are worth saving, but the scrap- metal value of these is sufficient to warrant reclaiming.

In the past, the reclaiming method w7 as to break the

lamps by hand. They were put into a barrel rigged

like a churn, wdth a plunger worked up and down.

This was a slow process, and too much material adhered

to the brass shells. The new machine consists of a motor-driven revolving steel cylinder perforated on the inside wdth holes

not quite large enough to permit the brass shells to

fall through. A barrelful of glass bulbs, perhaps 300

or 500 of all sizes, is poured into the cylinder. Loosely

placed among the lamps are two long steel bars covered

wdth prongs. As the cylinder revolves at high speed,

these prongs knock the glass, filament, and cement

loose from the brass shells. The broken waste falls through the holes in the cylinder and the clean brass

shells remain inside of it. PROFITS FROM WASTE

One of the most interesting papers presented before

the national convention of The Society of Industrial

Engineers, was that of Virgil M. Palmer, on Profits

From Waste. The speaker divided industrial waste

into three classes—class 1, waste occasioned through

low yield, or inefficient use of consumable tools,

accessories and supplies; class 2, waste occasioned

through failure to use the by-products from production

operations; and class 3, w

r aste occasioned through the

obsolescence of plant, equipment, or product.

When possible, waste should be reduced at its source.

It should never be allowed to exist. Class 1 lends itself fairly readily to an attack at this point. Class 2 presents, perhaps, the most difficult, but the greatest

opportunities for profit. Much has already been

accomplished through the utilization of these waste

by-products for new and useful purposes. Class 3 is, many times, justifiable waste. It is waste created

through discarding the old for the new. It is the price

paid for progress, and is justified through the benefits

to be attained. When we do not find these conditions we find the forerunner of stagnation and decay.

CARTON SIZES SHOULD BE STANDARD

The most progressive program that can be undertaken by the dried-fruit industry wall be the standardization of carton and shipping case sizes, says a w-riter in the magazine, Western Canner and Packer, discussing the advantages of standardizing the carton sizes used by that industry, adding that “savings that will result from standardization of carton and shipping case

specifications wall extend to every division of the driedfruit industry.”
70

NOTES FROM THE AMERICAN STANDARDS ASSOCIATION

STANDARD FOR RADIO-TUBE BASES. The first authoritative national standard for radio

equipment has been prepared by the sectional committee on radio, (Cl 6), under the chairmanship of Dr. Alfred N. Goldsmith, vice president of the Radio

Corporation of America, and approved as American

tentative standard by the A.S.A. The Standard

governs the dimensions of both large and small types

of radio-tube bases. The Institute of Radio Engineers

and the American Institute of Electrical Engineers

are sponsors of the A.S.A. radio committee, which

includes representatives of 19 national organizations. In addition to the standards for vacuum-tube bases,

the committee is also working on standards for trans- mitting and receiving sets, and installations, component parts and wiring, electroacoustic devices, and

power supply and outside plant.

TWIST-DRILL SIZES. The technical committee on standardization of

twist-drill sizes, a subgroup of the A.S.A. sectional

committee on the standardization of small tools and

machine-tool elements, (B5), has carried on an intensive study of the 138 drill sizes carried in stock by the

various drill manufacturers and users in the size range from No. 80, (0.0135) to one-half (0.5000),

inclusive. As the result of this study the committee

has prepared two proposals covering diameters and

length, which are considered satisfactory for drill use by industry. The proposals are now being circulated

among users of these drill sizes to determine which are

preferred. Copies of the proposals may be borrowed

for review through the A.S.A. headquarters, 29 West

Thirty-ninth Street, New York, N. Y.

OUTLET BOXES.

The A.S.A. has approved as an American standard

the specification for outlet boxes, (C33a), submitted

by the Underwriters’ Laboratories under the proprietary sponsorship method. This standard is now in actual use by the Underwriters’ Laboratories in judging the acceptability of outlet boxes submitted for examination, test, and report. Prior to submittal to the A.S.A. for approval, the laboratories had the

standard reviewed by all manufacturers of outlet boxes

and others substantially concerned with the scope and

provisions of this standard. Virtually unanimous approval of all these organizations was obtained.

NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE.

The latest revision of one of the electrical industry’s

most important standards, (the National Electrical

Code), has been approved as an American standard by

the A.S.A. The 1929 edition of the code, like pre- vious editions, is the industry’s basic guide for safe

practice in the wiring of consumer premises for the use

of electricity for light, heat, and power. The code was

first drafted in 1897 and has been revised fifteen times

to keep pace with the rapid developments in the electri- cal industry. The National Fire Protection Association was sponsor of the technical committee which prepared

the revision. The committee includes 76 members and

alternates, representing 36 national and local organizations. These include Federal, State, and municipal

officials, and representatives of various divisions of the

electrical industry, fire-insurance organizations, architects and builders, and other industries. The code

may be ordered through the A.S.A. office.

A.S.A. YEARBOOK.

A review of the national standardization activities of the American Standards Association is contained in

the 1929 yearbook of the association, which was re- cently published. The yearbook lists about 150 national standards which have already been completed

and about 175 other projects under way.

The yearbook lists, among the standards completed under the auspices of the association during

the past year, a group of 19 specifications and methods

of test for various petroleum products; a comprehensive code for protection against lightning, including sections for protections of persons, of buildings

and miscellaneous property, and of structures containing inflammable liquids and gases; standard track

gages and car sizes for metal mines; a group of six specifications for bare and insulated copper wire,

(this is the first time that standard specifications for cotton, silk, and enameled magnet wire have been

available); two more standards for pipe flanges and

fittings; and specifications for track work, covering

material for both steam and electric railways.

Important new projects initiated, according to the

yearbook, include specifications for pressure and vacuum gages; specifications for leather belting;

specifications for materials and workmanship for plastering; specifications for coal-mine cars; and a comprehensive code on mine timbering, including

specifications for timber and a code of timbering

practice.

STRUCTURAL STEEL SPECIFICATIONS

The American Institute of Steel Construction has

issued a booklet containing specifications for structural

steel for buildings, including both the standard

specifications of the A.I.S.C., for design, fabrication, and erection, and the standard specification of the A.S.T.M., A-9-24, covering the quality of the

material. It also contains the A.I.S.C., standard

specification for fireproofing structural steel buildings

and the code of standard practice. In addition,

there is included the minimum live loads allowable

for use in the design of buildings as recommended by

the Building Code Committee of the Bureau of Standards.

RADIO AS AN AID TO RESEARCH

The technique of radio measurements now consti- tutes a physical tool of considerable potency, says Dr.

J. H. Dellinger, of the Bureau of Standards. This tool

is useful in many fields besides radio itself, ranging

from fundamental measurements of the unit of time

to the electrical and chemical constitution of the upper

portions of the earth’s atmosphere.

Fundamental time measurements, as the basis of frequency standardization, are of outstanding interest. While frequency determination reduces essentially

to a time measurement, it is only now that frequencies

are beginning to be measured in terms of time with an

accuracy approaching that of the fundamental time

standard itself, viz, the rotating earth. This is because

of recent developments in (a) a radio-frequency

standard of adequate constancy, ( b ) technique for accurate comparison of radio-frequencies with the unit

of time.
71

MISAPPREHENSION AS TO QUARTZ PLATES. The principal recent development in radio-frequency

standards is, of course, the piezooscillator. There is

still current a vast amount of misapprehension about

the accuracy of quartz plates as radio standards. As

used to-day in many radio stations the accuracy is little better than 1 part in 1,000, and even this requires

specialized handling of the cutting, grinding, and

mounting, and thereafter testing and selection of the

finished quartz plate. When an experimenter, besides

taking these precautions, designs piezooscillator cir- cuits and associated apparatus with care, and keeps

the quartz plate at constant temperature, it is possible

to secure a standard which holds its frequency within

a few parts in 100,000. Extraordinary attention to all physical factors involved has made it possible to produce piezooscillators which appear likely to be accurate

to 1 part in 10,000,000; these are laboratory devices

requiring exceptional care and use. With their advent

the problem of frequency standardization may be said

to be solved.

While other phases of radio measurements have no

such brilliant advances to record, progress is being

made and satisfactory methods are available. Capacity and inductance measurements are usually made

by some form of substitution in a tuned circuit, the

most precise comparisons using a heterodyne method

for indication. Recent papers make available con- venient formulas for calculation of the inductance of

coils used in radio practice.

STANDARD METHODS OF MEASURING.

The vacuum-tube voltmeter has found extensive

applications. Small currents are usually measured

by a thermoelement and galvanometer; medium and

large currents by instruments based on the heat

produced in a thin wire or strip. An electrodynamic

type radio-frequency ammeter has recently been

developed. Measurements on such devices as vacuum

tubes and receiving sets have passed beyond the

laboratory stage and are extensively used in factory

production tests. Standard methods of measuring numerous characteristics of these devices just have

been adopted by the Institute of Radio Engineers and

will be available in its 1929 yearbook. The properties

of loud speakers have also been subject to a variety of measurements, and methods of measuring them described in current periodicals.

There are now many laboratories and workers

engaged on measurements of radio-field intensity and

intensity of atmospherics. These measurements in- volve fundamentally the use either of a calibrated

receiving set, or of a receiving set with a means of

comparing the intensity of the incoming field with a

locally measured voltage. There is a great deal of

literature available on these methods, together with

related measurements on fading and wave direction

and polarization. Recent trends include the development of automatic recorders and applications of the

cathode-ray oscillograph.

The measurements of radio-field intensity, and

thereby radio-wave phenomena, have been particularly

fruitful during the past year in determining the height of the Kennelly-Heaviside layer and revealing many facts

about the constitution of the upper reaches of the atmosphere. The measurements of the layer height have

given concordant results by several methods—,( a) fre- quency change method, ( b ) angle of incidence, (c) time

interval group retardation, and (d ) long echo signal time.

Some of the long echo signals have been interpreted as indicating radio-wave paths extending out

from the earth farther than the moon and back.

Whether this be correct or not, we now have a vision

of radio measurements as an instrument, not alone for

terrestrial use but for exploring the depths of space. MACHINIST’ VISES STUDIED

Results of an investigation of the efficiency of vari- ous weights of machinists’ vises are soon to be published by the Bureau of Standards. Although the

industrial arts rest fundamentally on the simple hand

tools which have been known and used for centimes, no tests have been reported previously showing the

most efficient vise for a given job.

An investigation was therefore undertaken at the

bureau to determine the relationship between the

size of the vise and its efficiency by performing typical

shop operations on material held in the vise. These

operations consisted of sawing, bending, and riveting

steel specimens, and were carried out under carefully

standardized conditions, using 12 vises of the stationary bottom type having different length of jaw from

2-inch, (9-pound), to 9-inch, (282-pound).

In those tests, which may be described as statis tests—for example, the sawing tests—in which the

movement of the tool was large compared with the

movement of the vise, the tests showed no appreciable

difference in the efficiency with which the work was

performed. On the contrary, in the dynamic tests—

for example, the riveting tests and some of the bending tests on large specimens—the weight or inertia

of the vise had an appreciable effect on the efficiency

with which the work was performed. The efficiency

of the 5K-inch, (102-pound), vise was greater than for any of the lighter vises, but was about the same for

all vises larger than 5/2-inch.

NEED FOR SIMPLIFIED CONTAINERS

Expansion of the farm-produce-container industry

to keep pace with the increasing fruit and vegetable

business has produced in recent years a multiplicity of crates and boxes that in many instances amounts to confusion, according to an announcement of the Bureau

of Agricultural Economics, Department of Agriculture.

According to the bureau more than 1,000,000,000

containers are required to package the approximately

1,000,000 carloads of fruits and vegetables shipped

annually in the United States. These containers are

of five types—baskets, crates, boxes, barrels, and sacks.

There are seven types of baskets, crates, and boxes having either panel or solid ends, and there are three types of

barrels. Sacks are generally made of jute, but in- vestigations are now being made of the practicability

of using cotton or other fibers. Containers in use for shipping a given commodity

vary widely in different sections of the country. For

the same kind of vegetable one section may use a basket, another a crate, a third a barrel, and a fourth a

sack. Fruits and vegetables taken into city markets

by near-by farmers may move in a variety of containers. In a New England city spinach was found on the market in lettuce crates, egg cases, orange boxes, and

hampers.

Many of the variations in fruit and vegetable containers will always exist, because different types of commodities require different types of containers and

because manufacturers in different sections of this
72

country can readily supply certain types of containers

and can not supply other types. Inability to supply

other types is the principal obstacle in the way of adopting a specific container throughout the country

for any given commodity.

Discussing possibilities of simplification in boxes

and crates, the bureau declared that “if practicable,

it would be desirable to have a uniform length for apple-box shooks so that tops and bottoms could also be used for peach, pear, and other boxes. Sizes of asparagus crates might be simplified by using the 1 and 2 dozen sizes for bunched asparagus. Variations

in sizes of crates for cantaloupes is due to an attempt

to make the crate fit the pack. Instances are cited

of large growers using an electric saw with which slats were sawn for crates made each day to fit the melons. ” “Much confusion,” said the bureau, “has existed as

to the sizes of cherry boxes, as many as 15 different

specifications being reported. Attempts to pack a

certain number of pounds to a box are responsible for these variations.

“California for many years has attempted to bring

about the standardization of grape containers, but the

demands of shippers’ organizations for variations in

sizes resulted in chaos. At present 13 different

standard containers for grapes are provided, but a reduction to 10 is contemplated.”

TRADE PAPERS APPROVE EDITORIALLY.

This statement of the Bureau of Agricultural

Economics has added weight because of an editorial

appearing in a recent issue of the magazine “Food

Industries,” which said that the standard size food

containers are becoming widely used.

Food manufacturing groups are beginning to appreciate the great inherent advantage for their industries

in adoption of size standards for food containers,

said the editor writer of the “Food Industries,” adding

that there has often been a misunderstanding of the

meaning of this movement, (simplified practice),

toward uniformity in packages. Some manufacturers

have felt that they lost their identity and suffered some commercial disadvantages through the adoption

of standard sizes. Such fear has not been realized for the very good

reason that the adoption of container sizes under the

division of simplified practice of the Bureau of Standards program is carried forward only when the industry

itself takes the initiative and reaches substantially

unanimous agreement.

There are still many cases in which hundreds of odd sizes of containers are used where a half dozen or dozen sizes would suffice equally well from the standpoint of both producer and consumer of the food.

If any industrial unit believes that such a condition

prevails in its business, it will be well for the management of such concern to take up the question of simplification with the Government staff which specializes on these projects. The officers of such companies

need not fear that the Government will take the matter

out of their hands and try to “run the show” contrary to the best interests of any industrial group.

They will get a very sincere and straightforward co- operation, which will facilitate a determination of the

facts involved and insure prompt adoption of uniform

package sizes only in such circumstances as can be

justified on the score of both efficiency in production

and effectiveness of distribution.

SAN DIEGO ADOPTS STANDARDIZATION

A recent clipping from the San Diego (Calif.) Sun

announces the appointment by the city council of a

standardization committee. This committee proposes

to follow the lead of other progressive municipalities

by standardizing all the regular purchases made by

the city. In the case of special supplies, such as medical, fire-fighting, and engineering equipment,

recommendations made by the various heads of departments will be followed.

BRITISH WANT SIMPLIFICATION

There are thousands of articles which are made by

the million. These are articles which everyone must

have and which do not require to be possessed of an

individuality to please the fastidious says the Aberdeen

Press and Journal in an editorial comment on an

address by the Hon. H. G. Williams, M. P., to the Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce.

But in the case of many of these articles the British

manufacturer still keeps on presenting the public with an unnecessary choice, with the result that the factory can not save as it would in mass production. The

shopkeeper has to stock the variations with a loss or

depreciation of value on those which do not sell so

well; and the country loses in the matter of export

trade because of the cost of variation. Standardization and simplification in such instances would not

offend inherent British taste, and it would help

Britain and the British in ways calculable and incalculable.

NEWS FROM THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING MATERIALS

NEW STANDARDS DEVELOPED.

The American Society for Testing Materials, through

its 49 technical committees, has developed a number of new specifications and methods of test which were

presented at the annual meeting of the society in June

and accepted by the meeting for publication to elicit comment and criticism. Under the society’s standardization procedure it is customary to publish all proposed standards for a year or more as> “tentative,”

thus securing the benefit of trial before the standards

are definitely established. A wide variety of subjects

is covered.

As a result of the demand from large consumer

organizations for working basis in the purchase of

steel springs, the society, in cooperation with the

Railway Spring Manufacturers’ technical committee,

developed tentative specifications for “heat-treated

carbon-steel helical springs.”

Tentative specifications for “gray-iron castings” for

valves, flanges, and pipe fittings were developed as a

result of a request from the Sectional Committee on

Pipe Flanges and Fittings, functioning under the

American Standards Association, for a specification

covering “stock ’’goods; that is, finished flanges, valves,
73

and pipe fittings of east iron manufactured in advance

and supplied from stock by the manufacturer or jobber.

A set of tentative definitions of magnetic terms, with

units and symbols relating to magnetic testing which

has been developed is a compilation of those magnetic

terms, conceptions, and quantities most commonly

required in the electrical industry. The symbols are

in complete accordance with those adopted by the

American Institute of Electrical Engineers.

An "accelerated life test for metallic materials” for

electrical heating has been added to the society’s

several methods of testing high temperature and

electrical resistance alloys. This method covers the

determination of the resistance to oxidation at high

temperatures under intermittent heating of metallic

materials for electrical heating.

Recent developments in the preservative coatings

field have led to the formation of tentative specifications for soluble nitrocellulose and for several solvents,

namely, specifications for ethyl acetate, (85 to 88 per

cent grade), butyl acetate, (85 to 88 per cent grade),

and butanol, (normal butyl alcohol). The Committee on Preservative Coatings for Structural Materials has also developed a method of routine determination of acetone extract in dry lampblack and dry

bone black and a test for polishing lubricant in alu- minum powder for paints, (aluminum bronze powder).

Work on the color properties of paint materials has

been completed and a method of analysis for the color

characteristics of paints in terms of fundamental

physical units is being published as tentative.

Extensive investigations on the oil and moisture

contents of paraffin waxes has led to the development

of the tentative method of test for the determination

of expressible oil and moisture in paraffin waxes. An additional specification to the society’s standards for road and paving materials is the new tentative

specifications for gravel for bituminous concrete base,

drawn up as a result of the increased use of gravel in

bituminous road construction.

The tentative methods of test for size of anthracite

and tentative test for sieve analysis of crushed bituminous coal are the recent additions to the society’s

methods of mechanical analysis of coal and coke.

To the group of standards covering waterproofing

and roofing materials, new specifications for asphalt

for use in constructing built-up roof coverings, have

been added. A tentative method of test for coarse

particles in bituminous materials by means of elutriation has also been developed.

Activity in the field of testing rubber products for absorbing vibration has resulted in the development of a tentative method of test for hardness of soft rubber,

(in slab form). It is hoped that such a test can be

used as a control test on the uniformity of successive

shipments of rubber products.

The specifications for asbestos tape for electrical purposes being issued as tentative are the first specifications for asbestos textile fabrics. As a result of a demand for specifications for tire fabrics a new specification for chafer tire fabric was developed and is being issued as tentative.

These new specifications and methods, together with

all other specifications and methods of the society

now having a "tentative status,” will shorty appear

in the 1929 book of A. S. T. M. tentative standards.

REVISIONS IN CEMENT SPECIFICATIONS PROPOSED.

Committee C-l on cement of the A. S. T. M. has

approved for reference to letter ballot of the committee

and, if thus approved, for submission to the society’s

committee on standards, certain tentative revisions in

the present standard specifications for Portland cement.

The revisions upon which the committee is balloting

include: (1) The changing of the title of the present

standard so as to cover "Portland cements” instead of

"Portland cement”; (2) the insertion of two sets of

strength requirements in the standard, one for Portland cement and the other for high early strength

Portland cement; (3) the making of the tensile-strength

requirements of the 1 : 3 standard mortar for Portland

cement 200-pound at 3 days and 275-pound at 7 days,

and for high early strength Portland cement 275-pound

at 24 hours and 375-pound at 72 hours; (4) the making

of the 28-day test optional with the purchaser, and,

when so directed, the strengths not to be lower than

those obtained in the 7-day, or 72-hour test, (for Portland cement or high early strength Portland cement,

respectively); and (5) placing a limit of 2.5 per cent on the sulphuric anhydride in the high early strength

Portland cement.

The committee has also referred to letter ballot for

reference to the committee on standards, tolerances to apply to all equipment now used in testing cement.

These are essential for the proper functioning of the

Cement Reference Laboratory which the society,

through its Committee C-l, now maintains at the

National Bureau of Standards. The committee also

is giving consideration to new specifications for masonry cements.

SPECIFICATIONS FOR PETROLEUM PRODUCTS.

Committee D-2 on Petroleum Products and Lubricants for many years has been engaged in the preparation of standard test procedures for the tests in use in

evaluating petroleum and its products. The standardization of the established methods of test has been

accomplished and some of the newer tests are in process

of being standardized. Many of the test methods have

been approved as American standard by the American

Standards Association.

The results of a 2-3T ear study of the "significance of

tests of petroleum products,” designed to supply the

need for authoritative information regarding the applicability of the tests now in common use and the significance of the results obtained with regard to the

proper choice of tests and the assignment of proper

numerical values to specifications based upon these

tests, was made available last year. The committee has now reached a point when the

consideration of developing standard specifications for

certain petroleum products seems to be warranted and

it is engaged in the formation of technical committees

which will study the relation between test data and

service performance of materials and prepare materials

specifications. These technical committees will be

organized on a broad basis corresponding in organization to a section committee under the procedure of the

American Standards Association and will include representatives of organizations interested in specifications

for petroleum products, especially consumer organizations.
74

PLANS TESTS OF PROTECTIVE PIPE COATINGS

The enormous capital investment in underground

pipe systems, and the well-established fact that this pipe is being attacked by the surrounding soil has

resulted in much discussion by those who are responsible for the maintenance of these pipe systems. The

problem of pipe protection is of such vital interest to the gas industry that the subcommittee on pipe coat- ings and corrosion of the distribution committee of the American Gas Association has supplied funds for the study of this problem and has appointed a research

associate at the Bureau of Standards.

Every gas engineer who has a pipe system to protect must decide whether or not it is economical to apply some kind of a coating to his pipes and if he

feels that protection is necessary he must choose the

kind of coating that he will use. But in attempting

to choose the coating he finds that his principal source

of information is the coating manufacturer. Here he

finds a number of conflicting and often well-grounded

opinions as to what a protective coating should be,

and his final decision will probably depend largely

upon the source of his information. The characteristics and properties of a material which is available and

cheap and which will best protect a pipe are not

definitely known, and they may depend upon the kind

of soil in which the pipe is laid. For the above reasons any accelerated test of a coating is at this stage open

to question.

STANDARD MILLWORK PATTERNS

As much as would be gained by adopting standards

for moldings and general millwork throughout the

United States, the many efforts put forth during the

past three years to have standards adopted have to a great extent been ignored, writes M. C. Cantrell in

the Wood Worker on the subject of “Standard Patterns for Millwork.” In his article Cantrell advances

two reasons for much of this failure:

First, there has been a belief by many that an adopted stand- ard would do away with detail or special designing to a great

extent, thereby depriving customers of the privilege of individual

preference; this is an entirely erroneous belief. The real object

of this movement was to do away with a number of local cata- logues published by different local lumber organizations, usually

started by some large lumber manufacturing concern, with

the result that the retail yards were getting remnants of a number of patterns of moldings that were supposed to be the same, but with a difference that would not matter. Then there were the 8,000 series and the 5,000 series, the

greater number of patterns that were intended for the same,

that would not match. Such conditions not only cause confusion but led to an appreciable waste of material. For the purpose of adopting a single standard molding and millwork

catalogue, the 7,000 series was designed, but for some reason it did not “take” with the trade, so the “57 varieties” practice goes merrily on. At this time the field is being questioned as to its attitude toward the 7,000 series, and the general response is that the proper solution is to make some changes in the old 8,000 series and do away with all others. This seems to be the logical

thing to do, as it is not only the oldest series, perhaps, but the patterns therein come nearer to meeting the favor of the general

public. Since hundreds of millions of feet of stock moldings

are used every year and timber is becoming scarcer each year the work for standardization is timely.

Subscriptions to the Commercial Standards

Monthly should be placed directly with the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office,

Washington, D. C., rather than through the Bureau

of Standards. Subscription price in the United States,

Cuba, Mexico, Newfoundland, the Republic of Panama, and Canada is $1 per year, or $1.25 per year for foreign countries. Do not send stamps when placing

your subscription.

LAMP STANDARDIZATION REDUCED COST

One hundred and twenty-five million standard

motor-car lamps used on present-day motor cars are

of the gas-filled tungsten-filament type and account

for more than one-half of the 250,000,000 miniature

lamps sold in the United States during 1928, said

R. E. Carlson, of the Westinghouse Lamp Co., who

spoke at a recent meeting of the Chicago section of the

Society of Automotive Engineers. More than 24,-

000,000 motor vehicles are now served regularly, and

90 per cent of their lamp needs are taken care of by

11 or 12 lamp sizes, as a result of standardization.

Quantity production of a few types has reduced the

retail price so decidedly that to-day it is only about

60 per cent of v

r hat it wr as in 1920.

LIGHT USED TO TEST MATERIALS

In many lines of work at the Bureau of Standards

light is the principal factor used in the test. Some

tests are intended to simulate average daylight conditions, for others only light of a particular color or, rather, wave length is used. In many instances only

the light or radiation in the invisible portion of the

spectrum is used—the ultra-violet and infra-red—but

because the weather is such an uncertain element the

scientist can not depend on the sun as a reliable source

of energy for his tests. Quick, reliable results under

conditions which can be duplicated and which are comparable with solar radiation are necessary. A

careful spectral analysis was made of the light emitted

by the sun and compared with artificial light sources, and for many tests, especially in the study of the fading

of fabrics , paper, and inks, The carbon-arc lamp is used

because its light has been found the closest approach

to that of average sunlight. The time of exposure of samples to such light is extended as much as seems

necessary. In some cases, as when testing paints and

varnishes, a water spray is used to bring in the effect of rain fall. Most of the work mentioned is in the

experimental stage so that just how particular kinds

of material wfill stand up remains to be seen. Everyone knows how difficult it is to obtain an exact

color match for cloth, and it is quite a problem even

for the manufacturer to duplicate any desired shade,

but some interesting work being done by the bureau’s

textile division may solve the difficulty. A spectrophotograph is take of a sample, and by means of

certain prominent lines or bands in the spectrum the

dye for that material is definitely identified and can

be exactly duplicated. Other questions entering into

the dying of a fabric must be considered, but these

should be within control of the manufacturer. The

study is under way at the bureau.

Incandescent lamps are tested to insure that the

lamps supplied the Government, under contract, comply wdth the specification for candlepower and life. Lamps of an entirely different type are calibrated for manufacturers for use in pyrometers to enable them to keep foundry operations in the working of metals w'ell within the critical temperature ranges required.
75

By the rotation of a beam of plane polarized light

passing through sugar solutions the percentage of

sugar is obtained. By this method the bureau’s

sugar laboratory checks the laboratories of the Custom

Service, and the duty collected by the Government

on imports is based on the results of these tests. For some kinds of work monochromatic light, or

light dominant in one particular color, is used, more

particularly to ascertain differences in dimension

between two objects or to determine those minute

but important changes which occur with change in temperature or when material is in a stressed condition. By interference of light waves a pattern of light

and dark bands is disclosed, the distance from one

light or dark band to another light or dark band repre- sents one-half wave length. This method is used to check the master gage blocks for manufacturers, the

accuracy of the depth of blood counting chambers

used by physicians, dental amalgams, enamels for metal ware, glazes for porcelains, etc. These are only some of the ways in which light is used to test materials at the bureau, but there are many others.

STANDARDIZATION OF INSTRUMENT DESIGN

An article by Arthur Schroder, in the magazine

Instruments,, has the following to say about the effects of standardization of design of instruments:

Within the last five years a marked change on the part of many users in demanding specific apparatus, and on the part of the manufacturer in building up corresponding specifications has been observed. When definite specifications are laid down

for various tests, the accuracy and reproducibility of the tests are increased; but by standardizing the tests and the apparatus

along with the tests, the cost of the apparatus is greatly reduced

because specially made types are no longer necessary and larger

production can be employed. Now, the tendency is to incor- porate in specifications for equipment only the essentials and

leave the unessentials to the manufacturer for his solution. After a discussion of the work of trade associations and such

technical societies as the American Chemical Society and the American Society of Testing Materials it is pointed out that

there has come about as a result of the work of these various groups “a realization of the danger of wasteful duplication by

various manufacturers or technical organizations,” and, conse- quently, an attempt is being made to simplify and standardize

the method of test and the specification for the apparatus to be

used. This can be amply illustrated by a reference to such a

simple instrument as a thermometer. Commercial testing laboratories were required to have 150 to 20 different types of thermometers in order to be equipped for testing the average

run of technical products. To-day about 30 different types

are required.

About five years ago there were over 40 control types of gas apparatus on the market, which types were considered more or

less acceptable and standard. A study of these soon showed

that there was a needless duplication of equipment, all designed

to accomplish the same ultimate results. This meant that a manufacturer would have to carry in stock all parts for the 40

types of gas apparatus and be ready to supply replace units at a moment’s notice. As a result of standardization and simplification, a complete gas-analyzing apparatus for almost any gas can be assembled in about five minutes from standard parts

carried on the shelves of the manufacturers. STANDARDIZATION REDUCES PRICES. As a result of such standardization the appliances retained have been improved, manufactured in larger quantities, and

their prices materially reduced. The development of highly

specialized testing apparatus is ascribed to the enormous in- crease in the use of specifications for products and a conse- quent increase in the time consumed in testing.

TEMPERATURE CONTROL IN RUBBER TESTING

The great importance of temperature control in test- ing rubber has been brought out in recent work at the

Bureau of Standards. Previous work at the bureau

upon the effect of relative humidity and temperature

during the preparation of samples and determination

of the stress-strain relation of rubber compounds has

been extended to include the effect of these variables

upon resistance to abrasion.

The investigation consists of a study of four compounds under varying temperatures of testing over a range from 59° to 95° F.; a study of testing under

uniform conditions, samples conditioned before cure under varying conditions of relative humidity at a

single temperature; and a study of testing under uniform conditions, samples conditioned after vulcanization at various temperatures while maintaining a

single relative humidity.

The resistance to abrasion was determined on each

of three cures of the four compounds under the above

conditions with two types of abrasion machines. The

investigation shows definitely that the temperature of

testing resistance to abrasion must be controlled to obtain uniform results as the range of temperature

covered in this study may cause variations amounting

to over 25 per cent. The differences in this property

vary both in degree and kind with the type of stock

used.

Relative humidity during the conditioning of the raw stock before vulcanization and the temperature of

conditioning the cured stock while maintaining a constant relative humidity before testing cause only minor

differences in the resistance to abrasion. They should

be controlled, however, to assure more nearly uniform

results. BRITISH COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRY AND TRADE

The final report of the Committee on Industry and

Trade, which was appointed in 1924 to study the conditions and practices of British industry, points out

that it has been made plain that the reconditioning

of British industry will undoubtedly involve a great

deal of scrapping and replacement of plant, and enlargement of the industrial unit, both by growth and by the

regrouping of units through consolidation or other

forms of association, so as to obtain the full benefits

of large-scale production, elimination of waste, stan- dardization and simplification of practice, and all the

other measures of economy usually included under the

comprehensive term of “rationalization.”

STANDARDIZATION OF BOTTLES

Following the typical practice of European national

standardizing bodies of dealing with standardization

of all sorts of subjects calling for an engineering or

scientific approach, the national standardizing body

in Holland has appointed a technical committee to deal

with the standardization of bottles for wine, beer,

milk, and mineral water.

INDUSTRIAL STANDARDIZATION IMPORTANT

Industrial standardization has been a paramount

factor in the recent economic progress of the United

States, editorially remarks the magazine Barrel and

Box, adding that cumulative evidence points unmistakably to the conclusion that it is one of the most

significant and far-reaching methods of increasing

industrial efficiency to the benefit, if properly used,

of all interests concerned.
76

Tangible and trustworthy results regarding the

achievements and economies of standardization, however, depend upon the closest cooperation within an

industry, coupled with a desire to increase public

economies by eliminating the unnecessary in our economic life. The achievements of standardization

in the past are but guide posts to the possibilities of

the future.

Standardization means many things besides the mere standardization of product as to size, quality,

design, or of methods and procedure in the productive

process proper. It is applied in an increasing degree

to the function of business procedure in all its branches,

as in establishing grades and specifications, in dis- tribution methods, transporting and handling, clerical work, finance, and communications, always with the

immediate aim of economizing material, effort, and

time. So far-reaching is the application of the principle that in many instances one fails to appreciate

its significance, the extent and manner by which it

is advanced, its advantages to industry, and the problems to which it has given rise. Standardization should be regarded as a tool, a method, a device, or a technique for achieving certain

ends. Whether or not advantages outweigh dis- advantages is found to depend entirely upon what use

is made of standardization, as it may retard as well as promote industrial progress. DAYLIGHT RADIO RECEPTION AT MAXIMUM

Daylight radio reception is now at its maximum,

with static at a minimum, investigation at the Bureau

of Standards indicates. The laboratory for special

radio transmission research at the bureau has just

compiled its annual report on long wave daylight

reception for the year 1928. The report covers the

receiving measurements from 13 distant stations,

mostly European, and 6 American stations within

500 miles of Washington.

The curves showing the comparison of the reception

conditions from 1923 to 1928 indicate that signals were weak in 1923 and 1924, and that a maximum

was reached in the reception from most of the stations

in 1927. The daylight static on the contrary, which was high in 1924, fell to about half of its 1924 value

in 1927. The 1928 values indicate that it has about

reached its minimum and may probably increase

during the present year. These changes in signal

and static intensities are believed to be connected with

the changes in solar activity which is now probably at or a little past its maximum in the present 11-year

cycle.

INTERNATIONAL AERONAUTICS CONFERENCE AT

WARSAW

An international aeronautics conference will be held

in Warsaw on October 4, Assistant Trade Commissioner

Gilbert Redfern, Warsaw, Poland, reports to the

Department of Commerce. Representatives from some 50 nations are expected to be present at the

conference, which will last about 10 days. Deliberations of the conference will be primarily for the purpose

of obtaining the unification of aeronautical laws by means of the conclusions of respective international

conventions.

In addition, the conference will examine the project

of a convention for airplane transportation and the

responsibility for the transportation of merchandise

and air mail. The project of the convention, which is to be investigated by the Warsaw conference, has been

elaborated by the international technical committee

of experts on air laws, on which 31 countries are repre- sented. The organization of the administrative details

of the conference has been delegated to a committee

headed by Leon Babinski, of the Polish Foreign Office,

and Bronislas Pierschala, of the Ministry of Communications.

GERMANY SAVES ON PAPER SIZES

It is interesting to note an official statement of savings made in Germany by the use of the standard

paper sizes worked out under the auspices of the

national standardizing body, and widely adopted in

that country and throughout continental Europe.

The German Government Printing Office uses about

3.000.

000 kilograms of standard size paper for official printed matter only. If the old paper sizes had been

kept, the same amount of printing work would have

required 3,300,000 kg., the saving being, consequently,

300,000 kg., (about 550,000 pounds), representing a money value of about 200,000 reichsmarks, (say,

about $50,000). However, as the German Government Printing Office furnishes but a little over onetenth of all printed forms required by the German

Federal and State authorities, a yearly saving of

2.000.

000 marks, ($500,000), through the use of the

standard sizes is regarded as a conservative estimate.

A CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT WASTE

A 16-page booklet S.P.1840 entitled, "A Campaign

to Prevent Waste,” has recently been published by

the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co. It

tells, in a pictorial way, the methods and procedure

employed by the Westinghouse Co. in the campaigns

it has conducted against waste within its organization.

A great deal of enthusiasm is being shown by industrial men in the subject of waste elimination. Industries and utilities as a whole are rapidly coming to a

realization of the worth-while savings that can be

effected by systematically conducted campaigns for the elimination of waste. MOST SHEATHING PAPERS FOUND EFFECTIVE

That most commercial sheathing papers perform

sufficiently well their function of keeping out the cold

air, provided the paper is properly put in place in the

walls of buildings, is indicated by the results of tests recently reported by the Bureau of Standards on many

different types of building papers. The tests of the

permeability of building papers to air was made by means of a device designed to simulate the pressure of a 20-mile wind, and the air leakage through the paper

under these conditions was measured with an ordinary

gas meter. Building papers, besides their use in weatherproofing walls have other important uses, such as protective coverings for materials on the job, for

finished floors, and for fresh cement and concrete work,

as lining for shipping cases, and as temporary roofing

and shelters, so that the particular use to be made of

the paper determines to a large extent the properties

desired in it. For example, in a wall the paper should

be air-tight and waterproof; as an outdoor protective
I I

covering it should be strong, dry or wet, and waterproof ; as a floor protection it should not have a sticky

surface coating.

The papers were tested for such properties as weight,

thickness, strength, water resistance, and permeability

to air. Some were found to be fairly strong, others

relatively weak. Some of the thin papers were

stronger than some of the thicker ones. Most of the

building papers which had been treated with weatherproofing materials, such as asphalt and paraffin, were

rather resistant to air and water, although the water

resistance of some was poor. Some which were fairly

air-tight were not very strong and would require careful handling to get them in place without tearing.

STANDARD FITS FOR MASS PRODUCTION

That one of the most important standardization

problems in the mechanical industry is the establishment of a national system of fits from which each

branch, unless its requirements are very special, may

select the fits required for its particular purpose, is the opinion of John Gaillard, mechanical engineer,

American Standards Association, as expressed in his

article, Limited Gaging, which appeared in The

American Machinist.

National standard systems of fits are established in 11 countries and are in development in 5 more. In

his article the writer makes some comparisons, and

analyzes some of the steps that must be covered to attain a universal system for all countries.

Standard fits are indispensable for mass production

of interchangeable parts. Interchangeability may be

required merely by the assembly of the component

parts into the final product; by the necessity of replacing worn or broken parts; or by the fact that it must be

possible to connect members of one group of objects

to those belonging to another group, as, for example,

in the case of taper-shank tools and the spindles of the

machines in which they are to be used.

o

SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL, AND COMMERCIAL

PERIODICAL PUBLICATIONS ISSUED BY THE

national bureau of standards

BUREAU OF STANDARDS

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH

The new Journal describes the bureau’s re- search results in science and technology. The

union of science and its applications in one

journal shortens the lag between discovery

and application.

All engaged in industry and commerce should

have available for current use and permanent

reference, the Bureau of Standards Jouynal of

Research.

Early in its firSt year the Journal developed a

liSt of paid subscribers double the anticipated

maximum.

This Journal is full of interest to executives

and technicians controlling industries and

commercial enterprises. It enables them bet- ter to promote efficiency by determining the

scientific measured controls ofprocess through

experimental and theoretical research.

Issued monthly. . . . Price, $2.75 per year

TECHNICAL NEWS BULLETIN

The Bureau of Standards periodical with a WAR RECORD! Started during the dark

days of 1917 to keep the Army and Navy and

other branches of the Government informed

of progress in scientific war research at the

bureau. Upon urgent request this publication was continued and expanded to serve the

Government, science, and industry.

The TECHNICAL NEWS BULLETIN will

keep you informed of current progress in the

scientific and technical work of the bureau’s

laboratories, and gives each month a liSt of

the publications of the bureau. A complete

cross index is published with the December

issue.

You can not afford to be without the TECHNICAL NEWS BULLETIN. Every article is short and to the point. The busiest executive can afford the time to read it. Subscription price, 25 cents per year

COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY

This new governmental periodical is a review

of progress in commercial simplification and

Standardization. It is the only journal of its kind. It covers the national movement ini- tiated by President Hoover for the reduction

of needless sizes and varieties of products and

the promotion of voluntary commercial

Standardization by industry.

The Secretary of Commerce in the firSt issue

of this new journal said: “Certain Standards,

such as those used for weights and measures,

* * * have been fixed by legislative enact'

ment. Mandatory Standards of this character, however, are few in number when compared with the large and steadily growing

volume of Standards developed by industry

and commerce and voluntarily maintained.

* * * The activities of the Commercial

Standardization Group of the Bureau of

Standards are concerned with Standards

adopted by voluntary agreement.”

Subscription price, $1 per year

STANDARDS YEARBOOK FOR 1929

The new Standards Yearbook for 1929 is the

third annual issue of a publication devoted to the great and growing field of standardization

in its broad aspects. It is a 400-page summary

of progress.

Standardization is a world-wide movement.

It covers all industries. It is part of the application of scientific methods to industry. Its achievements are of interest and concern to business men and manufacturers as well as to engineers. To the technician it is full of

example of methods and results of suggeStive

and Stimulating value. To business men it discloses trends which deeply concern their

intereSl.

NOW READY Price, $1 ORDER AT ONCE

“Standardization is becoming an aspect of all well- ordered activity rather than an incidental

activity supplemental to others.”

To obtain regularly the above-described publications send your order, with remittance, addressed: Superintendent

of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. Foreign prices (countries other than the United

States, Canada, Mexico, Newfoundland, Cuba, and Republic of Panama) are: Journal, $3.75; Bulletin, $0.40;

Monthly, $1.25; Yearbook, $1.20
“ * * * this department * * * is devoted solely to aiding and fostering the development of higher standards of living and comfort of our people * * * its ideals are clear: That by cooperation and not by compulsion it should seek to assist in maintaining and giving the impulse of progress to commerce and industry in a nation whose successful economic life underlies advancement in every other field." —President Hoover, at the laying of the corner stone of the new building

of the U. S. Department of Commerce, June 10, 1929.

THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

R. P. LAMONT, Secretary of Commerce

AERONAUTICS BRANCH, Clarence M. Young, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics. Establishment of civil airways and maintenance of aids to air navigation; inspection and registration of aircraft and licensing

of pilots; enforcement of air traffic rules; investigation of acci- dents; encouragement of municipal air ports; fostering of air commerce; scientific research in aeronautics; and dissemination of information relating to commercial aeronautics. (Some

of these functions are performed by special divisions of the Lighthouse Service, the Bureau of Standards, and the Coast and Geodetic Survey.)

BUREAU OF THE CENSUS, William M. Steuart, Director. Taking censuses of population, mines and quarries, water

transportation, and religious bodies every 10 years; censuses of agriculture and electrical public utilities every 5 years; and a

census of manufactures every 2 years. Compilation of statistics of wealth, public debt and taxation, including financial statistics of local governments, every 10 years; annual compilation of financial statistics of State and municipal governments.

Compilation of statistics of marriage, divorce, births, deaths,

and penal and other institutions annually, and of death rates in

cities and automobile accidents weekly.

Compilation quarterly or monthly of statistics on cotton, wool, leather, and other industries; annually of forest products;

and publication monthly of Survey of Current Business. BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE.

The collection of timely information concerning world market

conditions and openings for American products in foreign countries, through commercial attaches, trade commissioners, and

consular officers, and its distribution through weekly Commerce

Reports, bulletins, confidential circulars, the news and trade

press, and district and cooperative offices in 65 cities. The

maintenance of commodity, technical, and regional divisions to

afford special service to American exporters and manufacturers. The compilation and distribution of lists of possible buyers

and agents for American products in all parts of the world and

publication of weekly lists of specific sales opportunities abroad. The publicity of statistics on imports and exports. The study of the processes of domestic trade and commerce. BUREAU OF STANDARDS, George K. Burgess, Director. Custody, development, and construction of standards of measurement, quality, performance, or practice; comparison of standards used by scientific or other institutions; determination

of physical constants and properties of materials; researches and tests on materials and processes; and publication of scientific and technical bulletins reporting results of researches and

fundamental technical data. Preparation of specifications for Government purchases,

through the Federal Specifications Board.

Collection and dissemination of information concerning

building codes and the planning and construction of houses. Establishment of simplified commercial practices through

cooperation with business organizations in order to reduce the wastes resulting from excessive variety in commodities.

BUREAU OF MINES, Scott Turner, Director. Technical investigations in the mining, preparation, and

utilization of minerals, including the study of mine hazards and

safety methods and of improved methods in the production

and use of minerals. Testing of Government fuels and management of the Govern- ment Fuel Yard at Washington.

Research on helium and operation of plants producing it.

BUREAU OF MINES—Continued.

Studies in the economics and marketing of minerals and col- lection of statistics on mineral resources and mine accidents. The dissemination of results of technical and economic

researches in bulletins, technical papers, mineral resources series, miners’ circulars, and miscellaneous publications.

BUREAU OF FISHERIES, Henry O’Malley, Commissioner.

The propagation and distribution of food fish and shellfish,

in order to prevent the depletion of the fisheries; investigations

to promote conservation of fishery resources; the development

of commercial fisheries and agriculture; study of fishery methods, improvements in merchandising, and collection of fishery

statistics; administration of Alaska fisheries and fur seals; and

the protection of sponges off the coast of Florida. BUREAU OF LIGHTHOUSES, George R. Putnam, Commissioner. Maintenance of lighthouses and other aids to water navigation. Establishment and maintenance of aids to navigation

along civil airways. Publication of Light Lists, Buoy Lists, and

Notices to Mariners.

COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY, R. S. Patton, Director. Survey of the coasts of the United States and publication of charts for the navigation of the adjacent waters, including

Alaska, the Philippine Islands, Hawaii, Porto Rico, the Virgin

Islands, and the Canal Zone; interior control surveys; magnetic surveys; tide and current observations; and seismological

investigations. Publication of results through charts, coast pilots, tide tables, current tables, and special publications.

BUREAU OF NAVIGATION, Arthur J. Tyrer, Commissioner.

Superintendence of commercial marine and merchant seamen.

Supervision of registering, enrolling, licensing, numbering,

etc., of vessels under the United States flag, and the annual

publication of a list of such vessels. Enforcement of the navigation and steamboat inspection laws,

including imposition of fees, fines, tonnage taxes, etc. STEAMBOAT INSPECTION SERVICE, Dickerson N. Hoover, Supervising Inspector General. The inspection of merchant vessels, including boilers, hulls, and life-saving equipment, licensing of officers of vessels, certi- fication of able seamen and lifeboat men, and the investigation

of violations of steamboat inspection laws. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE, Thomas E. Robertson,

Commissioner.

The granting of patents and the registration of trade-marks,

prints, and labels after technical examination and judicial

proceedings

Maintenance of library with public search room, containing

copies of foreign and United States patents and trade-marks. Recording bills of sale, assignments, etc., relating to

_ patents

and trade-marks. Furnishing copies of records pertaining to patents. Publication of the weekly Official Gazette, showing the patents and trade-marks issued. RADIO DIVISION, W. D. Terrell, Chief. Inspection of radio stations on ships; inspection of radio

stations on shore, including broadcasting stations; licensing radio operators; assigning station call letters; enforcing the terms of the International Radiotelegraphic Convention; and

examining and settling international radio accounts.

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1929